June 4, 2021
Today, Friday, June 4, the International Crises Organization called on Tunisia to reform some counter-terrorism measures, warning that they could contribute to fueling a return to violence in the country at a time when this phenomenon is declining.
In a report published by the organization on Friday, entitled “The Decline of Terrorism in Tunisia,” researcher Michael Al-Ayari said that “the country is not threatened by a mass and armed jihadist movement.”
It is worth noting that since the 2011 revolution, Tunisia has witnessed the spread of armed jihadist movements and groups targeting the security forces, the army, and tourists.
Terrorist attacks against the security institution have resulted in 739 wounded and 164 martyrs, up to last March, which is an alarming number for Tunisia, according to the head of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee in Tunisia, Mounir Ksissi.
Thousands of Tunisians participated in the fighting with extremist groups affiliated with ISIS between 2011 and 2016, and Tunisians carried out four attacks in France and Germany in 2016 and 2021.
The International Crisis Organization confirmed, according to security sources in the report, that the two main organizations “Oqba Ibn Nafeh” affiliated with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb and “Soldiers of the Caliphate” close to ISIS, have lost two-thirds of their size since 2016 and now contain only about sixty people.
“Repressive Measures Deepen the Crisis of Confidence.”
In the organization’s estimation, the influence of Salafi-jihadi groups on the youth has declined and is no longer considered a solution “against the regime.”
The organization also warned that the repressive measures could “strengthen the crisis of trust between citizens and institutions” and fuel a new wave of jihadist violence, noting that three-quarters of the 2,200 people imprisoned for “terrorism” must “leave prisons in Tunisia in the coming three years.”, after they suffered from conditions of detention “leading to a return to criminality”, according to the organization’s estimation.
As for solutions, “International Crises” proposes reforming the arsenal of laws related to abuses, such as reducing the length of detention, improving respect for human rights during trials, and revising the state of emergency law.
